GoneTrending

America’s Ass wants to visit one of America’s greatest cities. In the most recent episode of Atlanta, Paper Boi (played by the great Brian Tyree Henry) attempts to go incognito at a mall to avoid the Crank Dat Killer, a serial killer who targets anyone who recorded a mid-2000s video set to “Crank That” by Soulja Boy, but he’s immediately recognized. “Only famous people trying to blend in come dressed like that,” he’s told by a pretzel shop employee. “You’re the only n*gga in here with a hat and no logo on it. You know how hard it is to find a hat without a logo on it?” She then points to a random white guy in a nondescript hat (it’s not Rob Lowe). “See?” she says. “That’s Chris Evans.”

It’s not the real Chris Evans, but it could have been.

In an interview with Variety about the episode, Atlanta writer (and Donald’s brother) Stephen Glover said, “We didn’t try to get Chris Evans. We just think he’s funny. The writers’ room has several running jokes about Chris Evans, but we’ve never tried to get him.” The Captain America actor responded on Twitter, writing, “Why not???”

Atlanta reached its quota of famous white people as themselves last season, I guess.

(Via Variety)

Sylvester Stallone practically goes to Mars in Tulsa King, a Taylor Sheridan-created series that puts the man who played Rocky Balboa into the heartland. He’s drinking out of tiny cups in Oklahoma while the camera also pans past the famed Golden Driller statue, and it’s not as though he’s Doctor Manhattan in HBO’s Watchmen, but you catch my drift. Stallone plays the “original gangster,” as this trailer puts it, and we get to see him pull a “nice little place you got here”-type of barge-in within the most unlikely of settings.

His character, known in the mafia world as “The General,” decides to wreak havoc in a marijuana dispensary while suggesting that they’re in need of protection from gangs and the law. It’s great fun, given that The General’s been in prison for 25 years and is a bit of a time capsule. Hopefully, Stallone enjoyed these sorts of scenes (even while enduring blazing hell this past summer), and he’s tossing out all kinds of 1980s-style one liners, as a 1980s action star tends to do. Good stuff so far. From the Paramount+ synopsis:

TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.

Tulsa King premieres on November 13 and also stars Vincent Piazza, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Max Casella, and Garrett Hedlund.

For years now, BTS fans have been wondering about the group’s fate when it comes to the military service that South Korean men are mandated to serve. There has been talk of the band members getting an alternative to military service, still performing during their service, and even not doing it at all.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the group’s fate would be decided by December, but ARMY didn’t have to wait that long to learn how it’s going down: In a statement shared today (October 17), Big Hit Music said “the members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service” and that the band will reconvene “around 2025.”

The statement continued, “Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government. Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”

It concludes, “‘Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)’ is more than a track from their latest album, it is a promise, there’s much more yet to come in the years ahead from BTS.”

In terms of career momentum, this isn’t the best time for BTS to go on a break: They got their first US No. 1 single, “Dynamite” in 2020 and have maintained a high level of global success since then.

Find the full Big Hit statement below.

“BIGHIT MUSIC CONFIRMS BTS TO FULFILL MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE

BIGHIT MUSIC is proud to announce today that the members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the perfect time and the members of BTS are honored to serve.

Since the creation of BTS over ten years ago, the band has risen to international success, broken records, and catapulted K-Pop into the global stratosphere. BIGHIT MUSIC has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that’s now. Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government. Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans. Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.

With the release of their first anthology album earlier this year it opened the path to allow the members to take some time to explore individual projects. As part of the HYBE family, we support and encourage our artists and are beyond proud that they will each now have time to explore their unique interests and do their duty by being of service to the country they call home.

‘Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)’ is more than a track from their latest album, it is a promise, there’s much more yet to come in the years ahead from BTS.”

Some conservative-minded folks have yearned for an alternative to supposedly free-speech-hating mainstream social media platforms like Twitter, and they got one with Parler. It hasn’t been without controversy, though, as the 2021 storming of the US Capitol was said to have been coordinated on the platform. Subsequently, it was banned from Google Play and Apple’s App Store (but has since returned to Apple).

Now, the platform is one again in the news: Kanye West, who has recently been restricted on Twitter and Instagram, has agreed to buy Parler.

In a press release shared today (October 17), Parler calls itself “the world’s pioneering uncancelable free speech platform” and says that West and Parler parent company Parlement Technologies “intend to enter into a definitive purchase agreement and expect to close during the fourth quarter of 2022.” It also notes, “The terms of the proposed transaction would include ongoing technical support from Parlement and the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data center infrastructure,” adding, “The proposed acquisition will assure Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.”

West said in the press release, “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves.”

Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer also said, “This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again. Once again, Ye proves that he is one step ahead of the legacy media narrative. Parlement will be honored to help him achieve his goals.”

Farmer, by the way, is married to Candace Owens, with whom Ye has been spending time recently: They wore matching “White Lives Matter” shirts at Paris Fashion Week and West later turned up at the premiere of Owens’ film The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd And The Rise Of BLM.

West created a Parler account today (found here) and has yet to post anything on the site.

(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)

The penultimate episode of the Game of Thrones prequel’s first season kept people guessing about the whereabouts of the show’s worst character (even beating out Ser Criston due to the power differential) thus far, Aegon Targaryen. Heck, even though Larys and his foot fetish dealt secrets for a carnal trade, at least he’s not literally committing rape like the new king. And of course, even Aegon knew that he wasn’t suited to rule (and King Viserys knew this but f*cked up with his deathbed moans due to milk of poppy) and only committed to the gig once he heard the crowd’s approval.

Then came some comeuppance that wasn’t quite as satisfying as what Daemon did to Vaemond, although there was still plenty to celebrate. Aegon was formally anointed, bestowed with the crown, and held the Blackfyre dagger over his head; and then all hell broke loose. Princess Rhaenys (who had been imprisoned during the Green Council as they maneuvered to install Aegon over the articulated heir, Rhaenyra) burst into the Dragon Pit coronation ceremony atop her dragon, Meleys. Rhaenys (all armored up) said nothing, and there was a stare-down with both Alicent and Aegon waiting to be incinerated by the roaring dragon.

This didn’t happen. Rhaenys simply scared the hell out of the Greens and flew the hell out of there. It was a badass move, and no one can deny this.

For some reason, though, Rhaenys declined to order “dracarys,” which actually could have ended the civil war. Daemon would have done that, right? For sure, and he’d have loved to do it. If you were willing her to “say it,” you’re not alone.

As such, social media was divided with some people thrilled to see Rhaenys taking an intimidating stand for Team Black…

…and those who lamented that she didn’t torch Team Green into a pile of ashes.

Yet if Rhaenys would have set Aegon ablaze, then the show might be over? Surely, people would have still tuned in to watch Daemon happily collect dragon eggs for three more seasons.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10: TIE. Hellraiser (Hulu movie)

Never open mysteriously ancient (or anciently mysterious) boxes. That’s one of the major lessons from this franchise, which now receives a gender-bending spin with the Hell Priest played by Jamie Clayton as directed by David Bruckner. The Cenobites are back, so get ready for all manner of gory death while reflecting upon exactly how inconceivable it would be for anyone to dress as the iconic Pinhead for Halloween. That spirit is what this week’s entire list is about, and maybe you’ll receive some better costume ideas along the way (or simply go as your Chef of choice from The Bear).

10: TIE. Shantaram (Apple TV+ series)

“Chaos ruled the day” is what Charlie Hunnam told us about filming the adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts book. That tome was a semi-autobiographical story about a bank robber and addict who fled an Australian prison and traveled to a new life in India. He picks up with Shubham Sarif’s charismatic Prabhu character, and the rest is history. Much like the spirit of FX’s Justified, Hunnam’s Lin will be hard pressed to get out of Bombay alive, and although Lin aims to stay out of trouble and keep to himself, an enigmatic woman might change that goal.

9. Friend of the Family (Peacock series)

Jake Lacy will freak the hell out of you in this inspired-by-true-events story about Robert Berchtold, a pedophile and kidnapper who weasels his way into the neighboring Broberg family and grooms to his little black heart’s content. Anna Paquin and Colin Hanks also co-star, and although the story is empathetic to the parents of the abused child, it’s clear that a lot of factors contributed to the family’s weakened defenses. This allowed a predator to descend, and consider yourself heavily trigger warned when it comes to this disturbing miniseries.

8. Werewolf by Night (Marvel special on Disney+)

The MCU feels oddly disjointed these days with shows flying everywhere, and it’s hard to keep up when something feels like it’s missing, structurally, after the first few Disney+ series. Maybe the multiverse wasn’t such a great idea? Well, at least there are different tones afoot these days. In the wake of Moon Knight, the MCU isn’t afraid to get dark and truly weird, and Gael García Bernal stars in what’s essentially a little Halloween treat for fans. He portrays Jack Russell, an on-his-face monster hunter who’s got another agenda while attending a monster hunter convention.

7. Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Amazon Prime series)

The season finale of this epic fantasy extravaganza will lead to a second season, no doubt about it. Jeff Bezos loves his baby and has funneled so much money into the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth, which is not only gorgeous but renders a different set of stories than fans got to see in the Peter Jackson films. Trolls freaked while calling this a “woke” take, but young Galadriel ain’t listening.

6. Interview With The Vampire (AMC series streaming on AMC+)

On very rare occasions, a reboot can be better than the original, and that’s what happened with this series that’s actually better than the 1990s movie starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst. Jacob Anderson (best known as Grey Worm from Game of Thrones) brings us a historically relevant update on Louis while Sam Reid swaggers in as Lestat de Lioncourt. Their relationship is now decloseted, and Bailey Bass delivers a more emotionally tragic Claudia that we’ve known before now. Anne Rice fans have to love what’s happening at AMC these days since we’ll soon see Alexandra Daddario starring as a witchy heir in The Mayfair Witches.

5. Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix series) and Conversations With A Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes (Netflix docuseries)

People cannot give up their obsession with serial killers, and these two gruesome-twin offerings involve both a Ryan Murphy series (which is somehow now the second most-watched Netflix series of all time, after about a month since release) starring Evan Peters. He’s too convincing in this role, and even though the show’s a dramatization about the prolific cannibal, it’s no less disturbing to watch because plenty of the show’s events did happen. In addition, Joe Berlinger (who previously directed Zac Efron as a dramatized Ted Bundy) takes the documentary approach to Bundy’s prosecution. Lock those windows and doors, people.

4. Halloween Ends (Universal movie streaming on Peacock)

Mike Myers is back, and this should be the last time that this happens, right? The ending of this franchise is solid although not too stunning as Jamie Lee Curtis takes Laurie Strode for one last whirl as she tries to shut down her horrible brother and his homicidal urges. David Gordon Green will soon move on to The Exorcist franchise for Blumhouse, so he’s here to tie up loose ends in what’s essentially a meat-and-potatoes branch of the horror genre.

3. The Watcher (Netflix series)

Ryan Murphy is (already) back to deal out a star-studded (led by Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannivale) cast revolving around the Broaddus family. The quartet moves into a fabulous home and then starts receiving horrible letters from some person calling themselves “The Watcher,” who claims to be tasked with watching over that plot of real estate. Speaking of which, Jennifer Coolidge portrays the realtor who may or may not have known about this issue before the sale, and the cast is rounded out by the likes of Margo Martindale, Richard Kind, and Mia Farrow.

2. Luckiest Girl Alive (Netflix movie)

This movie should have carried a trigger warning, given that it deals in traumatic subject matter involving rape and a mass shooting. Mila Kunis stars as the ax-tongued protagonist who’s trying to pull her sh*t together as based upon Jessica Knoll’s bestselling novel. Scoot McNairy portrays her high-school teacher who is thankfully as wholesome as can be, and Finn Whitlock picks up the role of handsome and wealthy fiancé. The film’s somewhat difficult to stomach, although that hasn’t stopped the viewership numbers from skyrocketing.

1. House of the Dragon (HBO series on HBO Max)

We haven’t yet recovered from last week’s events, including a shocking change of appearance and a gasp-inducing beheading that takes us into the penultimate episode of this first season. As well, the crown prince of drama participated in last week’s best and funniest exchange, and although we know that the House of Targaryen will not last forever, HBO sure is entertaining us with the ill-fated ride. RIP King Viserys I, you undoubtedly didn’t want to see what was coming to Westeros anyway.

(SPOILERS for this week’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan will be found below.)

There’s just one week left until the season two finale of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Throughout the year, we’ve watched Raq and Kanan’s relationship unravel while Marvin and Jukebox have worked to improve their own, which gets hindered and later boosted by the return of Jukebox’s mother Kenya. Raq continues to build the drug business and it’s led to a move into New Jersey despite objections from an Italian gang there and frustrations rooted in actions from Lou-Lou and Marvin. In last week’s episode, Raq and Kanan’s relationship grew as far apart as it’s ever been while Marvin shows signs of improvement that Jukebox seems to welcome. Meanwhile, Burke moved forward with her investigation into Howard’s shooting, but now Howard has caught on and he must act fast as she could ruin things for his future.

In the ninth episode of season two, titled “Anti-Trust,” Raq makes her boldest move against Cartier, who made a business proposal to her while overstepping his role in Lou-Lou’s record label elsewhere. Additionally, Burke learns who shot Howard thanks to an unreliable yet promising source, Marvin continues to show signs of growth as he and Jukebox spend more time together, and Kanan admits that he’s aware that Howard is his father. Lastly, and most shockingly, Famous makes a decision out of desperation, and when things don’t go as planned, his next move is one that will certainly land himself, and possibly others, in a lot of trouble.

Here are some of the biggest questions we had after the ninth episode of season two:

How Does Howard And Burke’s Battle End?

The battle that’s brewing between Detective Burke and Detective Howard is an interesting one. Howard has purposely obstructed teh investigation into his shooting because he does not want Kanan, who is his son and also the person who shot him, to face any punshiment for it. Burke isn’t about to let the shooting go unsolved, and she’s taken it upon herself to assume an internal affairs role to investigate. Despite Howard, her love interest, and her police captain’s wishes and demands for her to mind her business, Burke eventually learns Howard has a son, whose mother, Raq, was a former confidential informant of his whom he also got pregnant when she was 16. She also learns that Kanan was the one who shot him, but her source to that information is an unreliable one. Burke is determined to flip over every stone and Howard is just as determined to keep Kanan protected. Both Burke and Howard can’t have it their way, but neither can necessarily ask the other to stop without it backfiring on them. Something, or rather, someone will have to give and maybe we’ll learn who in the season two finale.

When Did Raq Know That Howard Is Kanan’s Father?

For the first time in all of the Raising Kanan series, Kanan acknowledges that he knows Howard is his real father. It comes after Kanan the results of a paternity test confirmed this in episode eight. Raq and Howard have gone back and forth over the last two seasons about when, if at all, to tell Kanan who his real father is. When Kanan tells Howard that he knows that he is his father, his next question is if Raq knew this since Kanan was born. In all honesty, it’s a good question from Kanan and one that may determine how forgiving he will be to Raq for keeping this information from him. If Raq knew since birth, there aren’t too many reasons she can give to Kanan for lying all these years. However, if it was something that she learned after Kanan’s birth, she may be able to save herself a bit by saying she did not want to alter things within their family. There’s a lot that needs to be done to fix Kanan and Raq’s relationship, and optimisim or not, it will take plenty of effort, patience, and time, something both sides may not want to give to the situation.

Will Marvin Succeed At Winning Jukebox Back?

There was a point this season where you wondered if Marvin would actually benefit from his anger management. He was very resistant to it in its early stage as he intially planned to put minimal effort into it. However, as time went on, Marvin started to see its benefits as some of the recommended practices he learned from it started to bring him good in the real world. One example is with his daughter Jukebox. It was Marvin’s anger that pushed her away from, as he brutally attacked her at the end of season one, but it’s the lessons learned in the aftermath that are helping to win her back to him. Marvin showed up when Jukebox needed him after her downfall with Kenya, and it’s clear that things are trending upward for them. Marvin tells Jukebox that he’ll change and do what’s needed, but she tells him that he instead needs to do it for himself in order to do it for others. If Marvin can keep this in mind, he more likely than not will succeed at fully winning Jukebox back an earning her forgiveness.

What Is Unique’s Overall Goal As He Works With Raq?

Unique finessed his way back into the drug game orchestrating a deal that worked greatly to his favor before Raq and the Italians. While there was the slim chance that he just wanted a safe way to make money, he made it very clear that he planned on knocking Raq off her top spot as revenge for her doing the same to him in season one. So when the opportunity to do that arises as Sal, the Italians’ head boss, looks to get revenge on Raq and the crew for killing one of his men (who tried to kill Marvin), Unique turns it down in order to not be remembered as a snitch. Truthfully, it was the perfect opportunity for Unique to backdoor Raq and begin his takeover, but in declining it, we’re left to wonder how Unique will get back at Raq. Raq knows it’s coming and Unique is surely planning on it. All that’s left to see is how and when he’ll do it and whether or not he’ll be successful.

What The Hell Famous??

Famous sure knows how take something from bad to worse. After spending time in the streets earlier this season, Crown Camacho provided him with a place to stay in exchange for giving his landlord studio time. Unfortunately for Famous, his landlord is now looking for the rent he’s owed since Crown was killed by Lou-Lou. With no type of income to pull from and pay the rent, push comes to shove for Famous and he pulls a gun on a rival in their neighborhood. Things don’t go as planned and Famous shoots the rival multiple times during an attempted robbery. As it all plays out, you can only shake your head at Famous in disappointment. His worst fear was having to live in the streets, but this move will surely end in a situation that will be much worse than that. You can also only imagine that Kanan and others will get dragged into the situation which will only place blood on hands of those who were not involved in the slightest. There was a lot that Famous could’ve done to scrap up some money to pay rent, and shooting and possibly killing a rival was absolutely last on that list.

Cartier’s Gone, Now What?

In his short time in season two of Raising Kanan, Cartier quickly got his hands in multiple pots. He sparked a romantic relationship, a one-sided one at least, with Raq and he acquired 25% ownership of Lou-Lou’s label. Raq admired him for his business mind and Lou-Lou seemed appreciative that he introduced her to Zisa, a singer on his label and his new love interest. While Cartier was certainly around to help, his natural business mind sought ways to profit from Raq and Lou-Lou’s work. So when they ambush Cartier in an elevator and shoot and kill him, it’s not that much of a surprise due to his growing threat to their business. Did it occur a bit earlier than expected? Sure, but it certainly inevitable. The thing is, Cartier had his hands in multiple pots so his death will bring up many questions that could also bring unwanted attention to Raq, Lou-Lou, and their business endeavors. Cartier’s death may benefit Raq and Lou-Lou in the long-run, but the near future could prove to be extremely trubulent as they look to weather the impending storm that follows their decision. What that turns out to be seen as we’ll maybe receive a response in next week’s season finale of Raising Kanan.

New episodes of STARZ’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available to watch on Sundays at 12:00am EST.

During Game of Thrones’ run, the penultimate episode of each season often felt more memorable than its finale. We can’t say if history will repeat itself with House of the Dragon but we can tell you that episode nine’s “Green Council” is a thrilling hour of television that more than delivers on the promise this show started with. We’re talking about war or at least the build-up to it.

While members of House Targaryen and House Hightower have been flirting with the idea for most of the season, this week, they’re putting a ring on it. Or, more aptly, a crown. With Viserys dead and Rhaenyra clueless, the Hightowers stay busy, racing through the city in search of their would-be king and tying up the messier ends that come with this whole usurping business.

Here’s where everyone stands relative to the Iron Throne after the “Green Council.”

The Pretenders

Ser Criston Cole

Ser Criston Cole is the definition of failing upwards and we hate to say it, but Milly Alcock made a real mistake early in Rhaenyra’s reign by giving him a promotion. He is, as Shakespeare would say, a plague on someone’s house. Whose house, we’re still not sure. At the moment, Criston is playing errand boy for Queen Alicent — who he’s so devoted to that it’s quickly becoming a workplace harassment issue — and throwing yet another temper tantrum that ends in a man’s untimely death. (R.I.P. Lord Beesbury. You were a real one.) Despite being one head-bashing closer to meeting the FBI’s criteria of a serial killer, Cole moves up the ranks to Commander of the King’s Guard, crowning Aegon himself and looking mighty smug while doing so. The reason we can’t rank him as a contender for any semblance of real power is two-fold. First, he’s a gormless incel, and we just don’t like him. But, more importantly, aside from his rage-fueled blackouts, Cole doesn’t make any moves without permission from the Hightowers. He’s their manservant, not a realm-conquering rival.

Rhaenys Targaryen

We wanted to cheer for Rhaenys in this episode. We did cheer for Rhaenys in this episode. But her inability to torch her enemies to a crisp in the final minutes of the “Green Council” has us questioning her ride-or-die status just a bit. After spending an undisclosed amount of time locked in her rooms fielding thinly-veiled threats from Alicent, she escapes with the help of one of the Kings Guard twins – but she’s quickly lost in the crowd sweeping its way through the streets to witness Aegon’s coronation at the Dragon Pit. This works out because Rhaenys makes it clear she won’t be leaving without her dragon. And as gleefully as we all cackled when that intimidating winged-beast rose from the depths of King’s Landing to terrorize a few peasants and leave Otto Hightower peeing himself if she had just “Dracarys-ed” a usurper or two on her way out, we might have avoided the Dance of Dragons altogether. Talk about a missed opportunity.

Aegon Targaryen

It’d be ridiculous to say we sympathized with Aegon this week — the guy just raped a servant girl last episode, he’s a walking garbage can of a human being — but we did recognize the impossible nature of his plight. This is a long-wished-for son and heir who was never favored by his father and abused by his mother. Add to that the privilege of his royal status and the sense of power that comes with riding a dragon and what did the realm expect him to become besides a drunken lecher who dreams of abandoning his family and pissing right off to Essos? He only comes around to the idea of ruling when Alicent spews her idiotic claim that his dad really wanted that for him, and he only enjoys the crown when he realizes it brings the kind of love and acceptance from total strangers that he never got from his own family. He might be continuing the cycle of generational trauma, but he sure didn’t start it.

Aemond Targaryen

For someone who was so quick to challenge his uncle’s alpha status last week, Aemond is a bit more lily-livered than we expected when sh*t hits the fan in “Green Council”. Sure, he’s still doing his “skulking in the background” routine and putting off some threatening BDE vibes, but we’re not sure he’s packing anything of note to back that up. Why? Because while he can’t help but parade his animosity towards his older brother all along Silk Street, he never seizes the opportunity to get rid of the only obstacle standing in his way to the Iron Throne. He hints to Ser Criston that he’d make a better — though likely crueler — king, and he’s probably right, but he never shows the initiative to change his circumstances or the spine to carry out the necessary act of fratricide. If this is the great Kinslayer that’s supposed to be a worthy rival of Daemon Targaryen, we need him to step things up a bit.

The Contenders

Otto Hightower

As much as it displeases us to admit, Otto Hightower is winning this episode. The rotting corpse he once called friend is safely locked away so that he can do a bit of scheming to get his grandson on the throne. In fact, even if Alicent hadn’t imagined Visery’s last-minute succession change, Otto would’ve still made a play to usurp Rhaenyra’s claim. He’s been working the Small Council over for years unbeknownst to his daughter and he likely would’ve gone against her had she refused his plan. Despite having his assassination plot rejected, he’s still pulling the strings of House Hightower. For now …

Larys Strong

Larys Strong is nasty. Just plain nasty. And it’s not just the foot fetish and the way he’s convinced Alicent to prostitute her dainty toes for information. It’s how pleased with himself he is, how readily he’ll sacrifice anyone to gain a debt from someone with more power. He works over both The Hand and his daughter, playing them against one another to see who might be the more formidable opponent and who is the easily-manipulated ally. For what, we’re still not sure. But knowing his sick a**, it’s probably just for fun.

Alicent Hightower

Say what you will of Alicent Hightower but, if God is real, Olivia Cooke will be nominated for an Emmy for her performance this season. She’s somehow given a character who seemed like a two-dimensional amalgam of greed and jealousy in the books the nuance and complexity of a woman desperately trying to get ahead by playing a man’s game. In “Green Council,” she falters before finding steady footing, first seeming appalled that her father has been secretly orchestrating the very thing she’s suggesting before making moves of her own. She’s amassed some helpful allies in Larys Strong, Criston Cole, and her son Aemond, which means she gets to Aegon first and is able to sway him to her side of thinking. Why she believes that Viserys would actually want this coddled milksop to wear his crown when just hours before his death he reaffirmed Rhaenyra’s claim is still mind-boggling because we all know Alicent Hightower is not that dumb. Then again, if she thinks Rhaenyra will just happily accept peace terms instead of letting Syrax chew on her bones, maybe she is that dumb.

‘House of the Dragon’ airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm EST.

(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)

The first House of the Dragon season feels like nonstop drama and action. Surprisingly little of the revelations have to do with literal dragons, although the warring human-dragons provide plenty of conflict each week. Much of this has to do with their dynamics, including Rhaenyra’s current husband, Daemon, offing Vaemond’s head (minus the tongue) when he called out Rhaenyra’s children for being bastards and then insulted Rhaenyra’s virtue in one of the most glaring ways possible. As well, there’s been plenty of audience reaction to the ickier aspects of the Targaryen and Velaryon houses, including plenty of age-inappropriate and/or incestuous interactions.

Then there’s the inappropriate randiness displayed this week by Larys Strong. As our own Jessica Toomer notes, “Larys Strong is nasty.” This, of course, doesn’t have everything to do with his foot fetish. He’s in decent company with that desire, after all, given that plenty of people (including Quentin Tarantino) share the same. What’s gross about this is that Larys requires Alicent to display her feet in exchange for information (on how Otto found Aegon first). He gets off on holding an advantage/debts over people in power, and that manifests sexually with Larys.

Alicent is clearly not into this, as she sighed while knowing that she needed to appease his desires. Larys did keep his end of the (gross) bargain while letting Alicent know about the “web of spies” swarming around the Red Keep, and that includes Alicent’s own lady-in-waiting. Sure, Alicent got her information, but people are not here for the price that she had to pay. In fact, they’d like some eye bleach, thank you very much.

Also, it looks like Ser Criston is receiving a run for his incel money.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.

(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)

The penultimate episode of the first House of the Dragon season is already upon us. Last week gave us a fine soap opera by finally putting King Viserys I out of his rotting misery, and Prince Daemon Targaryen taking Vaemond’s head (although leaving him with his tongue) when he dared to call out Rhaenyra’s children as bastards (and he said even worse). We haven’t seen Daemon during this episode, although mini-Daemon is afoot and is skulking up a storm.

Yep, we’re talking about Aemond Targaryen, and it’s quite something that this family regularly throws on hoods to do mischief, and most people don’t recognize them. That’s not universal, though, since it seems that the front woman of one house of ill repute recognizes the most bitter Targaryen of his generation. More to the point, though, there’s the similar vibe to how Daemon’s idol (Daemon, still the crown prince of mischief) donned a hood that didn’t totally disguise him when he took Rhaenyra out for a pleasure tour, but it did allow him to murder his first wife and get away with it. Crime hoodie!

Alright, so Aemond tossed on his hood this week (during “The Green Council” episode) as though no one would notice his eye patch. He accompanied Ser Criston while they attempted to track down Aegon Targaryen. He’d gone missing, and everyone assumed that Aegon was up to no good, and Alicent had definitely misunderstood Viserys’ final words to her and beloved that he wished for Aegon to be king. You know, even though he’s the worst character of the show and a rapist, Alicent chose to believe this, and The Green Council subsequently wished to put their “long-standing plan” into motion.

Aemond, of course, wants to be Daemon so bad that it hurts. Aemond also wishes to be king, and it’s not clear (early on in the episode) if he truly means to help Criston, who’s on board with Aegon as king because of his devotion to Alicent (and hatred of Rhaenyra). As well, Aemond communicates that he wants to rule and is more fit to do so than Aegon, given that he’s trained with the sword, studies philosophy, and has the largest dragon in the world. Dude is salty, and people love it. Ewan Mitchell is killing this role, and people cannot get enough of the hood. Let the memes commence.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.